Lack of Effect of Egg Yolk in the Diet on the Development of Rous Sarcoma in the Chick

EGGS have long been used as a medium ingredient for promoting the growth of bacteria and protozoa, and have been used for tissue cultures. They have been highly recommended as the first solid food for infants and as a staple in the adult diet. It was rather disconcerting, therefore, to see a paper suggesting that eggs contained a carcinogen. Szepsenwol (1955 Szepsenwol (1958a) reported that female chicks fed a diet of whole hatchery waste eggs, autoclaved for 40 minutes at 20 lbs. pressure, mixed with wheat bran, iodized salt and cod liver oil (the latter for the first month only) came into production relatively early and males had large combs, wattles and spurs. Controls on Purina broiler mash were smaller and became productive 2 months later than those on the egg diet. Four New Hampshire females, but no controls, were kept on the egg diet for 28 months, while three White …